Howard tests Asian waters in push for seat

Australia is moving to expand its ties with South-East Asia in a push for the Prime Minister, John Howard, to be given a seat at the annual summit meeting of the region's heads of government.

Leaders of the 10-member Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) will debate an application for Australia to be included in their summit process - now the most important regional forum - when they meet in Cambodia next week.

The move is seen as a key test of the Howard Government's standing in Asia and its efforts to play an expanded role in regional affairs - an issue given renewed impetus by the Bali bombing.

ASEAN heads of government meet every November with their counterparts from China, Japan and South Korea. This year the Indian Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, will join the two-day dialogue. ");document.write("

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Cambodia, which holds the rotating chairmanship, recently urged Australia to apply for an "ASEAN plus Australia" summit to be added to the round of annual meetings.

"Cambodia is in favour of this summit because, like it or not, Australia is not far from South-East Asia," the Cambodian Foreign Minister, Hor Namhong, said.

He praised Australia, which was a key player in bringing peace to Cambodia, for promoting intra-regional trade and providing development assistance to poorer nations in Asia.

The Australian ambassador, Louise Hand, said Mr Hor Namhong had indicated there was strong support among ASEAN leaders for Australia to be included in the summits.

But Malaysia is believed to remain strongly opposed to expansion in general and the inclusion of Australia in particular. The Malaysians have previously vetoed Australian membership of the Asean Free Trade Area and Australian participation in the two-yearly dialogue between leaders of ASEAN and the European Union.

Senior Australian officials expect little softening in Malaysia's stance before the scheduled retirement next year of the Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad.

However, some officials believe regional alarm at the security implications of Bali will enable leaders in favour of expansion to override Malaysian objections.

With Malaysia proposed by the United States as the host of a new regional anti-terrorism research centre, analysts believe it will be harder for Dr Mahathir to maintain his demands for regional dialogue to remain an essentially Asian club.

The Singaporean Prime Minister, Goh Chok Tong, recently gave strong backing for Australia and other nations to be included in the annual ASEAN summits, and warned that the grouping must become more open to maintain its relevance.

ASEAN should accelerate linkages with Australia and New Zealand, he said. This would bring "significant economic and strategic advantages".